Eurohouse – Summerhall, Edinburgh

Nasi Voutsas is Greek and Bertrand Lesca is French. They both make theatre and they met at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year. They decided to make a show about the European Union and its relationship with Greece. They got together the funding and travelled to Greece for research. What they’ve made as a result is a darkly comic look at the EU, its founding ideals, and just what’s gone wrong along the way.

Exploring the making and the unmaking of the European Union, the show is a stimulating analysis of austerity and one that is carefully scrutinised in a challenging piece, which also manages to entertain throughout. When they began making the show, the pair could seldom have foreseen that Brexit would happen and the impact that would have on the work. Brexit adds another dynamic to the piece and makes its exploration of Europeanness all the more prescient, posing questions about intercultural dialogue and just whether work such as this will be possible in the UK following Brexit.

The show is also an interesting look at the making and unmaking of artistic practice. Co-produced with Fellswoop Theatre, one of the stalwarts of exciting work at the Edinburgh Fringe, the piece feels like the company is once again exploring and challenging the type of work they make. It is an interesting fusion of practice between Bertrand’s work with Fellswoop and Voutsas’ with ANTLER Theatre, another bastion of engaging Fringe work. The interrogation of artistic practice and the dialogue between the practices of two companies is an additional exciting element to the piece.

Eurohouse is a timely and refreshing exploration of the European project. At a festival where Brexit seems to lurk near the borders of many shows, the piece is a broader exploration that merits watching.

The Scotland team is under the editorship of Lauren Humphreys. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. We aim to review all professional types of theatre, whether that be Commercial, Repertory or Fringe as well as Comedy, Music, Gigs etc.